New Year's Resolution
by YogaForever
Summary: Knuckles isn't grumpy, Rouge can't stop giggling, Amy promises to leave Sonic alone and Sonic promises nothing. Meanwhile, Shadow ponders what it is to be plastered.


**New Year's Resolutions **

By

_Nana_

Now Rouge the Bat loved only one thing more than jewelry or teasing a certain arrogant, especially attractive, redheaded echidna and that was parties. She adored throwing Christmas parties for her exclusive (i.e. small) group of friends. Considering Vanilla had thrown a much more wholesome, less alcohol-oriented version of Rouge's usual Christmas parties that year, Rouge was left with only one other event worthy of being the excuse for a winter party. And that was New Year's.

On the eve of the coming year, Rouge sat on an L-shaped couch with Shadow (her permanent roommate at the moment), Knuckles, Amy and Sonic. Tails and Cream weren't invited, for the festivities were deemed too mature. And the five on the couch had the sneaking suspicion that Vanilla would not approve of their already played games of strip poker -didn't last long- and Take a Shot Any Time Amy Mentions She Loves Sonic. (This was one of the drinking games Amy was not involved with. She didn't know why Knuckles and Rouge kept snickering and taking shots almost every time she spoke to Sonic. Sonic did not seem amused.)

Now the four out of five of them were sufficiently drunk and Amy was ready to pass out. It was eleven-fifteen.

"I'll be better after a nap." Amy yawned, face pink from amber beer, and she attempted laying on Sonic's lap. Only to have her almost-boyfriend grasp her noggin and push her back up and toward Shadow.

"'Kay. Then sleep." Sonic said.

"Aw, don't be so cruel, Blue." Knuckles chuckled.

Shadow had his head back on the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling, wishing he could get as plastered as the others. If only so their drunken behavior was more tolerable. Mostly because he wondered what it felt like. He found Amy's face nuzzled into his chest.

"Such a soft teddy bear." Amy patted Shadow's chest.

All Shadow did was roll his eyes and then push Amy away.

"Oh, I know!" Rouge bursted. She had previously been looking around at everyone, wondering what they could do to ease their boredom from waiting for midnight. "Let's all write down New Year's resolutions and then read them to each other."

"Why write 'em first?" Knuckles inquired, then hiccuped very masculinely...In his mind.

"So that if someone says something that makes you want to change it, you can't." Rouge giggled at her own deviousness. "What do you guys say?"

"Sure."

"Sounds cool."

"Where'd the teddy go?"

Shadow grunted.

"Alright. Wait here." Rouge jumped up from the couch and returned with index cards and various pens and pencils. They were passed around by Sonic.

While he did not approve of the pink ink and purple fluff adorning the butt end of his pen, Shadow ignored it and scrawled something quickly in neat cursive. Amy took her time, leaning in very close to her paper.

"How can you even see anything?" Knuckles asked, folding his written-on index card in half.

"I'm near-sighted. I need to be a little closer." Amy answered, in a slurry voice.

"Because that's new information." Shadow grumbled, still remembering her mistaking himself for that blue hedgehog. "Are you also color blind?"

"Sometimes I get my purples and reds mixed up." Amy whispered shyly. Knuckles arched a brow at that and Rouge lifted her card.

"Done." She said, smiling like a little girl in her drunken state. Amy picked up her card and stared into it with conviction, like willing herself to keep to it. She folded it.

Then Amy turned to Sonic, who was still writing, "you done yet?"

"Almost." Sonic looked at his somewhat sloppy handwriting._ I promise to take Amy out on at least one date. And to be nicer to her, in general. _He swallowed. "Everyone ready to reveal the cards? I mean, are we gonna wait til midnight or what?"

"Nah." Knuckles said. "Right Rouge?"

"Right, babe." She touched his arm and they both laughed giddily.

"Save it for later." Sonic grinned.

"Oh, be_have_!" Amy quoted the movie they'd watched in the early evening.

Shadow just snapped, "Can we please end this ludicrous game now?"

"Don't be such a wet blanket." Rouge rolled her eyes. "What did you write as your resolution, Shadow?"

In answer, Shadow held out the card bluntly. _Nothing _was written. "I resolve nothing."

"Well, that's no fun." Knuckles said. Then he read his card in an uncharacteristically-while-sober loud voice: "I resolve to listen to the Master Emerald more."

No one said anything. They all sort of avoided looking at him for a second.

"I resolve to try stealing the Master Emerald less." Rouge tittered. "And I also resolve to fix Knuckles' virginity problem."

Sonic snorted. Amy looked confused and Shadow rolled his eyes. Knuckles simply blushed.

"Okay..." Sonic broke in nervously. "Well, I-"

"Ooh! Me first!" Amy chirped and held her card close to herself.

"Well?" Rouge and Knuckles coaxed.

Amy eyed Sonic and smiled sweetly at him. Nervousness mounted in his stomach because he read his card next. And last. "I hereby promise..." Amy cooed, and Sonic held onto his card tightly. "To leave Sonic alone some more. I resolve that I won't bother him to take me on dates as much. What about you Sonic? Sonic!"

Quite against the rules, Sonic had very slowly, but surely, ripped up his card.

Then he said: "I'm with Shadow. Happy New Year's, guys."


End file.
